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12,000 BCE
The Migration to North America via Beringia
An ice age allowed for lower sea levels and for the exposure of a land bridge between Siberia and present-day Alaska.(1) Peoples spread out relatively quickly by means of an ice free corridor or by coastal ocean voyages.(2) Large megafauna also came to North America, and the people lived and flourished in isolation after the bridge was covered with water again.(3) These were the indigenous people Europeans would encounter. -
1497
Jean Cabot discovers Canada's East Coast
Cabot was the first European to make contact with land in what would become Canada, at Newfoundland. (4) He and subsequent explorers brought portmanteau biota and virgin soil epidemics to the New World. (5) These would prove to be detrimental to the populations of indigenous peoples, especially those concentrated on Canada's East Coast. -
The Founding of Quebec City
Champlain's founding of Quebec City was the first successful attempt at a colony in Canada. It was an economic and agricultural project and the goal was self-sustenance.(6) Settlers began to domesticate the land (an example of ecological imperialism), and establish a trade and survival relationship with the nearby indigenous groups.(7) -
Henry Hudson finds the Northwest Passage
Sent by the English Muscovy Company in 1607, Hudson was tasked with finding a passage to Asia via the North Pole.(8) While he was ultimately unsuccessful, on his third voyage in 1610 he explored Hudson and James Bay, giving later fur traders of the Northwest Company an alternative path into Canada's interior and contributing to the fur trade rivalries of the subsequent centuries.(9) -
Two-row Wampum Presented to the Dutch
Given to the Dutch by the Haudenosaunee, the two-row wampum represents the good faith, seriousness, and actual words used to establish a trading relationship between the two parties.(10) It is understood as a treaty agreement in which the parties are separate but equal (kaswentha).(11) -
Colbert becomes the Governor of New France
New France was integrated into the French Empire and mercantilism was emphasized.(12) The seigneurial system was established and the structure of society was made to be more bureaucratic, although strictly hierarchical.(13) The religion was officially Catholic and the foci were agriculture and fur trading.(14) -
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Voyageurs and Compacts
As the government of New France consolidated power and control, formal licenses were given to voyageurs who were becoming primarily young, French Canadian men after the Wendat Confederacy was dispersed by the Haudenosaunee.(46) A vacuum was created. At the same time, traders like John Nixon were being instructed to "make compact with the chiefs or captains" of the areas in which they were trading.(47) This signalled a continuation but formalization of the treaty process that began with wampum. -
The Great Peace of Montreal
Feeling vulnerable to French incursions into their villages, 1300 delegates from thirty-nine indigenous groups met with the French in Montreal to sign a peace treaty.(15) Written words were attached to wampum and the peace pipe was smoked.(16) Treaty relations were amicable and indigenous customs were adhered to. -
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The Deportation of the Acadians
Taking a more hard-line approach and forcing the Acadians to take an oath of loyalty to the King of England, Charles Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia began a policy of resettlement to those who did not accept these terms.(47) Many would return to Europe, but those pushed South live on today as Cajuns in and around present-day Louisiana. -
The Fall of Louisbourg
Both the fall of Louisbourg in 1758 and the Fall of Quebec in 1600 were precursor events leading to the fall of New France at the hands of the British in 1763.(17) -
The Royal Proclamation
The Royal Proclamation addressed how to deal with French Canadians and their indigenous allies that remained in British territory, redrew the boundaries of French territory, set aside an Indian reserve to restrict the growth of the Thirteen Colonies, standardized British law, government and religion and outlined the guidelines to purchasing indigenous territory.(18) -
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Pontiac's War
A loose alliance of indigenous groups united under Pontiac and launched a rebellion against British policies outlined in the Royal Proclamation.(48) It would prove largely unsuccessful, especially without its leader, and would never find the same unity again. -
Quebec Act
In response to tensions brewing in the 13 Colonies and to a French majority ruled by a British minority, the boundaries of Quebec were restored, as well as French civil law.(19) Greater religious freedoms were also given to Catholics, including access to public office.(20) It was perceived by the 13 Colonies as one of the British "Intolerable Acts" that contributed to the beginning of the American War of Independence. This act met British interests for territory in the fur trade as well.(21) -
Northwest Company Created
Scottish traders established a rival company to the HBC in Montreal and began to enroach on HBC territory, especially in the interior.(22) This foray into lands farther from the St.Lawrence gave even more of an impetus into the appearance of the Métis as a large and significant group, as well as creating fur trade rivalries.(23) -
The Peace of Paris
This was the official end to the American War of Independence but also altered the border with what would become Canada.(24) It appeared to be a betrayal to the indigenous allies that had sided with the British, but ended up losing territory when the British ceded much of the interior to the Americans.(25) -
Colony Distinctions
Loyalists that had moved North from the Thirteen Colonies pushed for political change in Nova Scotia especially.(26) New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were formally recognized as separate colonies with distinct political identities, a distinction which continues today.(27) -
Elected Assembly
The provinces of Upper and Lower Canada were established, and each was given their own elected assembly. This allowed them to provide for their distinct populations (mainly French and English).(28) -
Russian Settlement in Alaska
Russians settled in present-day Alaska to hunt and trade sea otter pelts.(29) This increased the Crown's interests in claiming land West of the Rocky Mountains, in what would become British Columbia.(30) -
War of 1812
The United States declared war on Britain, and thus British North America as well. After failed entries into this territory at Detroit/Niagara, the war was concluded mostly as a draw in 1815 with the Treaty of Ghent.(32) The border was drawn along the 49th parallel to the Rockies, and again indigenous allies were betrayed and lost land.(33) -
Selkirk Colony
The Selkirk Colony was first settled in 1812 at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers by Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk.(31) It was the first fur trading colony in the Northwest and a gradual settlement of the interior prairie provinces would follow. -
Merger of the HBC and NWC
With increasing competition and tensions, and further difficulties finding beaver and pemmican, the two largest fur trading companies merged, largely cutting out small competitors.(34) -
Proposed Union
This attempt at union (read assimilation) by the Chateau Clique failed to unite Upper and Lower Canada. French Canadians travelled to London to persuade the House of Commons to reject the proposal, which was a success.(35) -
HBC Regional Headquarters in Vancouver
Wanting to take away competition in the far west from the Americans and Russians, the HBC established a huge foothold West of the Rockies.(36) This furthers the claims of the British and lays the groundwork for the HBC colonies of Fort Victoria and eventually British Columbia. -
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Rebellions and Prairie Expeditions
Rebellions against Lower Canada by Upper Canada and vice versa failed to overtake the other and were easily suppressed.(49) At the same time, expeditions into the Prairie West intensified when the possible annexation of Rupert's Land was proposed along with the unification of the Canadas.(50) -
Treaty of Oregon
The American-Canadian border was officially extended past the Rocky Mountains to the coast, and Vancouver Island was given to the British as well.(37) Claims to what would become British Columbia were finally settled and the Americans and Russians pushed out. -
Robinson Treaties
William Beverly Robinson, a politician from Upper Canada, signed treaties with the Anishanaabe.(38) This was a break with the past as negotiations were not done by the book and indigenous customs were ignored.(39) Robinson, and may others after him, would come to largely ignore the institutional knowledge of indigenous ways with regards to treaties. -
Gold Rush
Reaching its peak in 1863, the Gold Rush in present-day British Columbia had many effects: the salmon population was compromised, forests were cut, violence erupted, there was a population influx of young males, and the international community arrived in the area for the first time in large numbers (especially Chinese and Americans). (40) -
Smallpox on the Coast
Smallpox decimated one to two thirds of the indigenous population in British Columbia and on Vancouver Island.(41) Consequently, they could not resist further intrusion into their territory, which had been the case since Europeans arrived with virgin soil epidemics in the 15th century. The smallpox in this case arrived by boat from San Francisco.(42) -
Charlottetown Conference
This conference probed into what possible union of the colonies in British North American would look like. It was supplemented in the same year by the Quebec Conference (where the Seventy-Two Resolutions, and consequent Ten Points were proposed).(43) Talks about unification were getting serious. -
British North America Act and Confederation
The British North America Act united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. (44) It was the first act not imposed by Britain. It looked to ease the threat of American takeover (real or imagined), create a railway to unite the provinces, annex Rupert's Land, and finally was a response to British free trade and the need for industrialization as the fur trade was dying out.(45) -
Extra Information
Katrina Phippard
11204995
Dr. Andrew Watson
